20 graduate from DOT’s skills program

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- In an aim to further improve the tourism program in the region, the Department of Tourism (DOT)-Central Luzon recently sponsored a language proficiency skills program to tourism frontliners from the private sector.

The DOT has partnered with S&A Learning Solutions, a private educational institution, to teach basic Mandarin language to tourist guides and travel and tours business owners who provides service in the region.

According to DOT-Central Luzon Director Carolina Uy, the activity is part of the Tourism Industry Skills Program implemented by their agency to enhance the competency of tourism workers in the region, especially that Central Luzon is now groomed as the “Gateway to the North.”

She cited the significance of having globally competent and capable frontliners in the development and further promotion of the tourism industry in the region, particularly in Pampanga.

“In the tourism sector, the government and the private sector must always be united because we cannot showcase the beauty and wonder of our place if we ourselves do not agree with each other,” she said.

She said that Chinese tourists are second in numbers who frequently visit Central Luzon and this is expected to further increase after a Chinese airline launched a direct flight from Clark to Shanghai in China.

To ensure that communication and promotion will directly be relayed to Chinese tourists, Uy said they picked 20 representatives from tourism organizations Alliance of Travel and Tours Agencies and Pampanga (ATTAP) and Hotel and Restaurants Associations in Pampanga who underwent 10-day Mandarin classes.

S&A Solutions Managing Director Tess Arevalo, who facilitated the Mandarin classes, said that the student-beneficiaries learned basic Mandarin words, including diction and intonation, as well as characters which they can use in communicating with the tourists.

She added that short but comprehensive Mandarin classes also imparted the culture of China which is known to be very important to Chinese people.

“It is a 10-day whole package program which I think, will be really beneficial to the tourism sector,” she said.

The 20 participants, who graduated over the weekend, will be the first batch of the continuous language proficiency training that will be sponsored by DOT-Central Luzon.